{"product_id":"in-the-realm-of-hungry-ghosts-isbn-9781556438806","title":"In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts","description":"\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking look at addiction and recovery from the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Myth of Normal\u003c\/i\u003e—the modern self-help classic that reframes everything you were taught about trauma and substance abuse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eAddictions always originate in pain, whether felt openly or hidden in the unconscious.\u003c\/i\u003e In \u003ci\u003eIn the Realm of Hungry Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e, world-renowned physician and trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté offers a transformative approach to understanding substance use disorder, recovery, and the root causes of addictive behavior.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough compelling case studies, cutting-edge neuropsychiatric research, and clear-eyed analysis, Dr. Maté explores how personal history, emotional development, brain chemistry, social conditions, and structural factors—including unhealed developmental trauma—influence addiction. He advocates for \u003cb\u003ehumane, compassionate approaches\u003c\/b\u003e that focus on \u003cb\u003ewhole-person, whole-culture healing\u003c\/b\u003e, showing how punishment, stigma, and isolation only worsen outcomes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis #1 international bestseller is essential for:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReaders facing substance use challenges\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFamilies and caregivers supporting loved ones in active addiction and recovery\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMental health professionals, therapists, and researchers exploring trauma-informed care\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003eDr. Maté reframes substance use disorder as a \u003cb\u003eresponse to suffering\u003c\/b\u003e, not a moral failure. He provides a radical, authoritative path toward understanding, hope, and societal repair. This book equips readers to offer compassionate support, advocate for effective social change, and make sense of addiction—which can be difficult for those who haven’t experienced it firsthand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSince its original publication in 2010, \u003ci\u003eIn the Realm of Hungry Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e has remained a bedrock for anyone seeking insight into trauma, addiction, and recovery—and continues to lay a path toward hope and true healing.“I recommend this wonderful book for anyone struggling with the heartache of addiction personally or professionally. Dr. Maté makes the thought-provoking and powerful arguments that human connections heal; and that the poverty of relationships in the modern world contribute to our vulnerability to unhealthy addictions of all manner. His uniquely humane perspective—all too absent from much of the ‘modern’ approach to addictions—should be a part of the training of all therapists, social workers, and physicians.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Bruce Perry, MD, PhD, co-author of \u003ci\u003eThe Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A riveting account of human cravings, this book needs to get into as many hands as possible. Maté’s resonant, unflinching analysis of addiction today shatters the assumptions underlying our War on Drugs.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Norm Stamper, former Seattle Chief of Police and author of \u003ci\u003eBreaking Rank\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In this brilliant and well-documented book, Gabor Maté locates the source of addictions in the trauma of an emotionally empty childhood, making it a relational rather than a medical problem. Such a radical thesis of cause leads to human connection rather than traditional treatment as the cure. This passionate and compassionate book, filled with scientific evidence and personal narratives, should be on the shelf of every person interested in the pervasive challenge of addiction.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Harville Hendrix, PhD, author of \u003ci\u003eGetting the Love You Want\u003c\/i\u003e and cofounder of Imago Relationship Therapy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Dr. Maté’s latest book is a moving, debate-provoking, and multi-layered look at  how addiction arises, the people afflicted with it and why he supports decriminalization  of all drugs, including crystal meth.… [\u003ci\u003eIn the Realm of Hungry Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e] reads not  only as a lively textbook analysis of the physiological and psychological causes  of drug addiction, but also as an investigation into his heart and mind.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Globe  and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In this comprehensive and courageous book … Maté relates, with compassion and honesty, the poignant stories of severe substance addicts – the hungry ghosts, in Buddhist-realm terminology – whom he treats. And it is the addicts’ stories and the clear logic of the latest science and statistics that Maté shares which convince the reader that society’s attitudes toward, and treatment of, addiction must change. …. This 480-page tome, exhausting in delineating and substantiating its causes, remains a remarkably lyrical, engaging read.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—In Recovery Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s time to give Maté … the Order of Canada for this erudite and sensitive  book about the lives of Downtown Eastside intravenous-drug users, the neurobiology  of addiction, and the folly of the war on drugs. It’s compulsively readable and packed  with new scientific discoveries about addiction. If you know the parent or sibling  of an addict—or the prime minister, for that matter—please give him this book.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe  Georgia Straight\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Gabor Maté’s connections—between  the intensely personal and the global, the spiritual and the medical, the psychological  and the political—are bold, wise and deeply moral. He is a healer to be cherished  and this exciting book arrives at just the right time.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Naomi Klein, author of \u003ci\u003eNo  Logo\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Shock Doctrine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With unparalleled sympathy for the human condition,  Gabor Maté depicts the suffocation of the spirit by addictive urges, and holds up  a dark mirror to our society. This is a powerful narrative of the realm of human  nature where confused and conflicted emotions underlie our pretensions to rational  thought.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Dr. Jaak Panksepp, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychobiology,  Bowling Green University, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Medical College of Ohio,  and author of \u003ci\u003eAffective Neuroscience\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With superb descriptive talents, Gabor Maté  takes us into the lives of the emotionally destitute and addicted human beings who  are his patients.  In this highly readable and penetrating book, he gives us the  disturbing truths about the nature of addiction and its roots in people’s early years–truths  that are usually concealed by time and protected by shame, secrecy, and social taboo.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Vincent Felitti, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, and  Co-Principal Investigator, Adverse Childhood Experiences Study\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Dr. Gabor Maté  distills the suffering of injection-drug users into moving case histories and reveals  how clearly he himself, as a music collector and workaholic physician, fits his own  definition of addiction. Informed by the new research on brain chemistry, he proposes  sensible drug laws to replace the War on Drugs. Inspired by the evolving spirituality  that underlies his life and work, he outlines practical ways of overcoming addiction.  This is not a fix-it book to hurry through, but a deep analysis to reflect upon.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Dr. Bruce Alexander, Professor Emeritus (Psychology), Simon Fraser University, and  author of \u003ci\u003eThe Globalization of Addiction\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Maté’s subjects  are the living, breathing embodiment of Canada’s grimmest statistics for HIV\/AIDS,  hepatitis, homelessness, crime, abuse, neglect, overdose, and death. More than merely  poor and disenfranchised, they are truly the lowest of the low, reviled by society  and demonized by law enforcement. [\u003ci\u003eIn the Realm of Hungry Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e] is enormously compelling  and Maté is admirably, sometimes inexplicably, empathetic to all who cross his path.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eToronto Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eIn the Realm of Hungry Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e] shows an unflinching look at addiction… Dr. Maté makes observations that cut through all the myths and misinterpretations about addicts and how they live… There are many nuggets of wisdom and insight throughout the book. Readers can literally pick up the book and leaf to any chapter and begin reading—and learn something valuable. It’s never boring, never condescending, never too much to read.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eAddiction Treatment Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[Gabor Maté], a front-line professional combating addiction in Canada, questions the premise that addiction is a choice that people make. If people are diseased or predisposed or making a moral compromises through their own free will, then society is allowed to simplify a complicated issue and avoid any share of the responsibility. For instance, the thesis of this book criticizes the criminal justice’s unscientific assumption that drug addicts are culpable because they choose to do drugs. Does that make sense – people want to, choose to be addicted?”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eAddiction Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eGabor Maté, MD,\u003c\/b\u003e is a physician, author, seminar leader, and acclaimed public speaker. His bestselling books include \u003ci\u003eScattered, When the Body Says No, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eHold onto Your Kids. \u003c\/i\u003eIn 2022, he also co-authored \u003ci\u003eThe Myth of Normal, \u003c\/i\u003ethe instant\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller, with his son, Daniel Maté. A former medical columnist for \u003ci\u003eThe Vancouver Sun\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Globe and Mail,\u003c\/i\u003e Dr\u003ci\u003e. \u003c\/i\u003eGabor Maté\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003elives in Vancouver, BC.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePeter A. Levine, PhD,\u003c\/b\u003e holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. He developed Somatic Experiencing, a body-awareness approach to trauma treatment, and his bestselling book \u003ci\u003eWaking the Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e has been translated into 22 languages. His other works include \u003ci\u003eIn an Unspoken Voice\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHealing Trauma\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTrauma and Memory\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTrauma Through a Child’s Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Encinitas, CA.No society can understand itself without looking at its shadow side. I believe there is one addiction process, whether it is manifested in the lethal substance dependencies of my Downtown Eastside patients; the frantic self_soothing of overeaters or shopaholics; the obsessions of gamblers, sexaholics and compulsive internet users; or the socially acceptable and even admired behaviours of the workaholic. Drug addicts are often dismissed and discounted as unworthy of empathy and respect. In telling their stories my intent is twofold: to help their voices to be heard and to shed light on the origins and nature of their ill_fated struggle to overcome suffering through substance abuse. They have much in common with the society that ostracizes them. If they seem to have chosen a path to nowhere, they still have much to teach the rest of us. In the dark mirror of their lives, we can trace outlines of our own.There is a host of questions to be considered. Among them:• What are the causes of addictions?• What is the nature of the addiction-prone personality?• What happens physiologically in the brains of addicted people?• How much choice does the addict really have?• Why is the \"War on Drugs\" a failure and what might be a humane, evidence-based approach to the treatment of severe drug addiction?• What are some of the paths for redeeming addicted minds \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e dependent on powerful substances—that is, how do we approach the healing of the many behaviour addictions fostered by our culture?American Edition of the #1 Canadian Best Seller","brand":"North Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300355428581,"sku":"NP9781556438806","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781556438806.jpg?v=1767729982","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/in-the-realm-of-hungry-ghosts-isbn-9781556438806","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}